President Trump has spent much of his second term trying to make his physical mark on D.C., earning — or perhaps awarding himself — the moniker of "builder-in-chief.""The best thing I do in life is build," he told reporters in May.Trump tore down the East Wing of the White House to build an even bigger ballroom (and military complex underneath).He built a helipad on the South Lawn after separately paving over the Rose Garden.
He had the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool repaved in "American flag blue," a project that was supposed to take two weeks but is still unfinished many months later, after a botched installation and several unfounded arrests.He's had new statues installed and existing ones restored, including two equestrian statues glaringly gilded over the summer.He wants to build a sculpture garden of "national heroes" in West Potomac Park and overhaul the locally beloved East Potomac Golf Links, changing it from a municipal resource into a championship-level venue.The list goes on.
Trump seeks to add his name to the Kennedy Center building, or else have it demolished altogether.He's trying to fast-track a controversial 250-foot arch near Arlington Memorial Cemetery, most recently rebranding it as a military complex — despite originally telling reporters it was intended to honor "me.""I have heard the president say: 'I am president because I am rich.
I am rich because I am a developer.I am a developer because I have exquisite taste,'" said Greg Werkheiser, whose law firm, Cultural Heritage Partners, is involved in several lawsuits against Trump's projects.
"It would appear that much of his self-worth is tied to this mythology of Trump as a builder." White House spokesperson Davis Ingle told NPR in a statement that "President Trump can walk and chew gum at the same time," saying he is delivering on campaign policy promises while also "ensuring the People's House and our Nation's Capital will be properly glorified and remain in excellent condition for...